Football won’t ever be the identical after 2021 with seismic adjustments in the males’s recreation. Lionel Messi’s tearfully left Barcelona to be part of Paris Saint-Germain as Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United’s Old Trafford.
On the worldwide entrance, soccer waited a yr extra to come residence as Italy defeated England on penalties in the last to win the Euro 2020 (the match was postponed by a yr due to the coronavirus pandemic).
In a heart-in-the-mouth second, throughout a bunch stage match between Denmark and Finland, Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch due to a sudden cardiac arrest and was transferred to the hospital and stabilised. The picture of the former Tottenham Hotspur maverick falling face-first after receiving the ball close to the left flank and his teammates hurdling round him to shield their compatriot from the world’s gaze will hang-out everybody who witnessed it dwell.
Messi gained a record-extending seventh Ballon d’Or, as Robert Lewandowski, thought-about as the most deserving participant who ought to have gained by many, was awarded the newly-launched Striker of the Year Award.
Here is a take a look at the finest soccer gamers of 2021 –
5. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
Erling Haaland is really dwelling up to the astronomical potential that many had predicted and has been pumping targets for Borussia Dortmund.
The 21-year-old Norwegian is but to win any main trophy in his profession however his goal-scoring prowess and maturity in entrance of the internet that he has proven over the final yr, will imply that the younger Haaland is the precipice of greatness.
After ending final season with a median of 1 purpose per match, Haaland is already doing higher in 2021-22 with 15 targets with half the season nonetheless to be performed. It will certainly be only a matter of time that Haaland strikes onto a ‘bigger’ membership as he appears to be properly on his means to fulfilling his future as the world’s finest very quickly.
4. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Mohamed Salah, nicknamed “The Pharaoh”, is ruling the hearts and minds of Liverpool fans and hatters alike. Scousers love him as he scores a lot of goals and everyone else hates him for it too.
The left-footed Salah has continued his rich vein of form, scoring goals for fun. He has already netted 22 times this season after bagging an astounding 31 in 2020-21. At the start of the year, Salah scored a brace to become the fifth Liverpool player to score more than 20 goals in all competitions in four consecutive seasons.
In fact, his influence has permeated other facets of society too as according to a 2021 study in the American Political Science Review, Salah’s Liverpool move led to a 16% reduction in hate crimes in the city, as well as reducing Islamophobic online rhetoric by Liverpool fans.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Ronaldo started off the year by breaking a bunch of records at the European championships on his way to winning the Golden Boot. Later in the year, CR7 surpassed Iran’s Ali Daei as the man with the most international goals.
But the most stunning move came in August as Ronaldo returned to his former stomping ground at Old Trafford after links of him joining bitter rivals Manchester City seemed a mere formality.
He had his favourite number 7 jersey from Edinson Cavani and has pumped in 13 goals already this season, including in every UEFA Champions League appearance he made this season.
2. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Lewandowski has for far too lived under the shadow of the likes of Ronaldo and Messi. He has the goals and the credentials of winning numerous.
He started off the new season with a bang, scoring in his seventh consecutive opening fixture of the Bundesliga, after finishing the previous season with 48 goals to his name.
The 33-year-old was named European Footballer of the Year and FIFA’s player of the year as well as the Order of Polonia Restituta but controversially didn’t get the Ballon d’Or in 2021 too after the award was cancelled due to Covid-19 last year.
1. Lionel Messi (PSG)
Messi won the Balon d’Or in 2021 after he won the 2021 Copa America while claiming the Golden Ball and Golden Boot award, as many questioned the award ceremony.
The year had many firsts for Messi. In January, he was sent off for the first time in his club career and also became the first to get 20 goals in 13 consecutive seasons in the top 5 European leagues.
On 16 May, Messi scored in his last appearance for Barcelona as come July, he was a free agent. A month later, Barcelona announced that he would leave which Messi confirmed in a tearful press conference held at the Camp Nou.
He already has scored 40 goals at the club and international level for the calendar year and even though Barca’s LM10 is just a memory now, Messi at PSG is a force to reckon with.
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